Allison is two-and-a-half!
For my future self, here's a little State of the Daughter address.
Allison is very bright. She knows all her letters and their sounds, and is very interested in the first letter of words. She'll frequently ask "What does apple (or whatever) start with?" We encourage her to sound it out, and she frequently figures it out on her own. It's a little tricky to explain that both Cinderella and cart start with a "c", and not "s" and "k" respectively. She's also adept at solving problems. She uses her little potty-step as a general purpose tool, moving it to new areas to reach things. Diana took her to a gym class, where she was in a big pit of foam cubes. The teacher called all the children to her (to get them to exercise by wading through the pit). Allison instead exited the side of the pit and ran along the solid ground and sat down next to the teacher. Clever girl.
Allison is very active. Her favorite game by far is "Wait for Me", which we've renamed to "So Fast". (I didn't like the main concept of the game to be disobeying what your parents are telling you). The following sentence is heard on a daily basis: "You and you sit on the green chair, and I run by, and you say 'Wait for us!'" She enjoys running on the grass at the park, as well as the swings and the slide, and in particular swinging by her arms at the top of the slide. She's very good at climbing almost anything.
Allison is independent. She's not cuddly by any stretch, but will sometimes sit on our laps while watching a movie. A notable exception was when she was sick, she would ask for cuddles. In fact, I could tell she was feeling better when I asked if she wanted to lie with me and she refused. If we try to help her with basic tasks like getting dressed or going to the bathroom, she sternly says that she can do it "All…. By… My… Self!"
In stark contrast to all this, though, is that she isn't very good at playing by herself. She loves interaction, and has a hard time entertaining herself. We'll set a timer for 10 or 20 minutes and tell her that we're busy until the timer goes off, and she needs to play by herself. Sometimes this works, and sometimes she'll deliberately misbehave to garner some attention.
Allison is reserved around strangers. She's improving in this regard, but she still keeps a wide berth around other kids at the playground. Especially older boys who are loud and very active. However, if approached by another kid, she can warm up quickly.
Allison is developing a sense of humor. "Hey, watch this!" is a new favorite phrase, followed by some weird noise or movement, which is in turn followed by her examining us for our reaction. She loves trying to make us laugh, or otherwise get our approval.
In contrast to the above, Allison also loves testing boundaries. We'll tell her that it's time to do something (put on your shoes, etc), and she'll deliberately run away with a big grin on her face. We'll give her a chance to do it herself, and she'll just stand there, staring as if to say "Yeah? What are you going to do about it?"
Allison eats very well, and it's never big a big hassle to keep her fed. She also sleeps very well at night, and is absolutely adorable at nighttime. She'll sing and entertain herself in her crib for upwards of an hour before settling down and going to sleep. (Only a few months ago, she would rely on calling us into her room as her entertainment). Naptimes can be difficult on the weekends, but rocking her to sleep remains one of my favorite things.
She'll point out every bunny, Volkswagon Beetle ("BUG CAR!" she yells) and PT Cruiser that she sees. She really likes the movie "Cars", and loves to hear stories about Mater and Lightening McQueen before bedtime. She loves watching home videos of herself.
That's all I can think of for now, though I know I'm neglected thousands of details and nuances.
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